ThePortForum.com

Deep red, showing plenty of youth still. Deep and ripe bramble on the nose, with just a hint of rose perfume. Silky and elegant in the mouth. Full of fruit, mature but not aged. Lively tannins give structure and vivacity and support a wonderful complexity The longer this is held before swallowing the more the flavours develop. Swallowing releases a huge burst of flavour. A slight amount of burn detracts a little but the huge flavours and very long length more than make up for this. Truly delicious and drinking perfectly right now but will hold for 10-20 years. 91/100. 2 April 2009.

Alex,

Quinta da Tua isn’t somewhere I’ve come across before. Do you know anything about it, such as where it is or who owns it?

According to Alex Liddell (Port Quintas of the Douro) Quinta do Tua is now part of Quinta da Chousa and is owned by Cockburn. It lies on the east bank of the mouth of the Rio Tua opposite Quinta dos Malvedos.

Sounds like another '87 that isn't quite ready for drinking yet - will keep mine safe for a few more years!

As far as I know, this is a one-off bottling, and that no other Tua VP vintages have been bottled.

Tom

Tom - I would agree, you don't need to be in a rush to drink these, they will last plenty of time yet but are very good now. I believe that Miguel mentioned that this was the only bottling of Tua as a Single Quinta.

Jacob - I can't really add anything to Derek's recital of Alex Liddell!

I don't want to spoil anyone's expectation of this wine but Liddle also notes that this was indeed the only Vintage porduced and that the Tua juice is principally used as a main ingredient in Cockburn's Special Reserve.

Grapes from Quinta do Tua are nowadays also used for Graham's Vintage Port. Below a small quote from Graham's Vintage Declaration of the 2007. The full text can be found on Graham's website.

Graham's Vintage 2007 Declaration wrote:This year is unique also in that it is the first time that wines from our newly acquired Quinta da Tua have formed a part of our Graham’s Vintage Port. This property lies immediately upstream from Malvedos on the North bank of the Douro, its tributary, the Tua, flowing between the two. Stylistically the wines show similarities to the Malvedos wines, with dark plum on the palate and a hint of eucalyptus on the nose.